our Program

Our program provides a faith based, hands on, active and individualized learning experience to ensure your child is prepared for kindergarten and the world.

We follow the Pennsylvania

Learning Standards for Early Childhood Pre-Kindergarten and use a blend of

Teaching Trailblazers and Pocket of Preschool curriculum along with The Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum for pre-reading.

When we think of a preschool we think of a program preparing kids academically for grade school and when we hear of a faith-based program we know there will be a religious educational component. But at Faith and Friends we're so much more. We genuinely care for your child and make it our mission to take a holistic approach to learning. We go the extra mile to make sure each child feels successful, cared for and valued. We aspire to nurture good students but more importantly good people to lead the next generation with a caring and Christian heart.

Classes

Language & Literacy

We take an individualize approach with each child to master the the alphabet and recognition of capital letters at this level with lots of fun games and play activities. Children build vocabulary through conversation starters and understand simple directions.

Mathematical Thinking

Children learn to count to 10, identify basic shapes, name and sort by colors and build reasoning skills.

Social-Emotional Learning

Students begin to understand and practice self-regulation, understanding and labeling emotions, manners, taking turns and building friendships.

Motor Skills

Our large selection of fine motor and sensory bins allow students to build coordination, dexterity and bi-lateral integration by using their hands and eyes together to manipulate loose parts. Children will also refine balance and gross motor skills during morning movement time and indoor/outdoor obstacle courses.

Creative Expression

Through various crafts, process art and project art students are exposed to a variety of mediums and multi-sensory art exploration. Children will have the opportunity to explore musical instruments and learn basic rhythmic patterns as well as to exercise their imaginative play skills in our dramatic and pretend play centers.

Scientific Exploration

Children explore animal habitats, conduct simple science experiments to assess cause and effect and begin to explore engineering.

Cultural Awareness

Children explore similarities and differences between themselves and others and learn Spanish vocabulary for colors, shapes and greetings.

Spiritual Growth

Each week there will be a featured Bible story with activities to introduce our kiddos to God's word and the key characters and events through both the new and old testament.

Language & Literacy

Our Butterfly students master letter-sound relationships, letter formation, spelling of their name, pre-writing skills and begin to recognize sight words. Phonemic awareness is introduced through the The Heggerty Curriculum.

Mathematical Thinking

Children will extend their counting numbers and are introduced to simple addition, subtraction and T charts. They will practice patterns, reasoning and problem solving skills. Students begin to understand money as an exchange for goods and services.

Social-Emotional Learning

Students learn to express feelings verbally, understand feelings of others and appropriate responses, community relationships and role play. They will learn to play cooperatively with friends and sustain positive relationships.

Motor Skills

Butterfly students continue to refine their motor skills through our fine motor and sensory bins and scissor skill activities while also practicing problem solving, creative thinking and engineering skills. More advanced movements and yoga poses are incorporated into morning movement time and obstacle courses to further develop balance and coordination. Team games are also introduced as weekly specials.

Creative Expression

Opportunities for both process and project art are presented each week as students get to choose from an array of mediums in our ART & MAKER SPACE. Our dramatic play centers become the ideal space for students to allow their creativity to flow as they design and run their own store, bakery, restaurant, pet shop, florist boutique and more! Weekly music classes focus on more complex rhythmic patterns.

Scientific Exploration

Children continue to explore nature, their senses and simple anatomy. Student will conduct experiments including cooking activities and participate in engineering challenges in our MAKER SPACE.

Cultural Awareness

Children demonstrate acceptance of people who are similar and different from themselves and understand family dynamics.

Spiritual Growth

Christian values are emphasized during Bible time as well as the concept of accountability to self and others. Children will learn to incorporate Christian views into problem solving and conflict resolution skills along with the idea of what being a Christian means.

FAQs

Q: What are the days and hours for the program?

A: For the the 2024-2025 school year Faith and Friends will be open Monday through Friday 8:30am-12:00pm.

Q: How old does my child need to be to attend?

A: Our program is for students ages 3-5 within the academic year, recommended starting age for our caterpillar program is 2 years 7month by September of the starting year.

Q: Does my child need to be potty trained to attend?

A: Yes, all students must be fully potty trained.

Q: What time is drop-off and pickup?

A: Drop-off is 8:20-8:30am and pickup is at 12:00pm.

Q: Do you offer after school care?

A: We are only a half day educational program only and do not offer additional childcare at this time.

Q: Does my child have to attend all 5 days?

A: No. Our Caterpillars Group and Butterflies Group have the option to attend full week, Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday/Friday- although we do recommend coming all 5 days so your child doesn't miss out on any activities or specials, such as music and art.

The Bumblebees Group is a 5 day a week program only due to the phonics and pre-reading program.

Q: What is the tuition for my child to attend?

A: Our tuition fee is $27/day for the 2 and 3 day options. We do offer a 15% full week discount. Parents who are classroom helpers receive a 50% tuition discount on the days they are helping.

Q: Are any meals provided?

A: No, students should have breakfast prior to arrival and bring a labeled water bottle with them. We do, however, provide healthy age-appropriate snacks daily.

Q: Do you have recess?

A: While we don't have recess for our half day program we do go outside (weather permitting) for morning movement, science and art occasionally.

Q: What is your discipline policy?

A. We do not use physical or verbal punishment under any circumstances. We use positive reinforcement, re-direction, social scripts, problem-solving techniques and self-calming activities to address behavior issues. This includes verbal warnings, reminders and positive choice prompting for immediate feedback as well as one-on-one and small group coaching to help students clearly understand rules and expectations, identity their emotions and the options they have for responding to a difficult situation. We highly value social emotional growth and helping our students to understand good choices, kind actions, and appropriate responses is key to our core values. We understand that all behaviors are a form of communication and do not simply put children in timeout or exclude them from actives as a behavioral punishment but rather use these situations as an opportunity for growth. We do however have a zero tolerance policy for violent and malicious behaviors and parents will be notified of any such occurrences that day via our parent app and in person at pick-up to discuss the problem and solutions.

Q.Do you have parent-teacher conferences?

A.Yes. We schedule family/teacher conferences twice a year to discuss your child’s progress, but you can request a conference with the Director at any time. We do not 'grade' or give report cards but your child will have a 'Kindergarten Ready Checklist' that will be updated as skills are mastered.